Champions League: Raphinha grabs hat-trick as Barca prove too ...
Barcelona captain Raphinha scored a hat-trick to lead them to a commanding 4-1 home victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday, ending a near decade-long winless run against the German powerhouses.
Raphinha's inspired night started when he gave Barca the lead a little over a minute after kickoff as he received a fine pass through by midfielder Fermin Lopez, beat the offside trap before rounding the onrushing Manuel Neuer and tapping into the empty net.
Harry Kane levelled the score with a volley in the 18th minute but Robert Lewandowski put the home side back in front in the 36th minute after a mistake by Bayern's defence and Raphinha extended Barca's lead with two goals from quick counter-attacks either side of halftime.
Barca are ninth in the Champions League standings on six points from three games while Bayern are 23rd on three points after a second consecutive defeat.
Elsewhere, Jonathan David grabbed a double as Lille came from behind to beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 away from home, while Sandro Kulenovic and Bruno Petkovic scored second-half goals as Dinamo Zagreb secured a 2-0 win at 10-man RB Salzburg.
There were also wins for both Feyenoord and Inter Milan, at Benfica and Young Boys, respectively. Inter had to wait until the 93rd minute for their winner, with Marcus Thuram popping up with the late, late goal to ensure his side took all three points.
Earlier, Brest and Bayer Leverkusen played out a 1-1 draw which ended both teams' two-game winning starts to the competition.
Meanwhile, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers believes his players can take major confidence from a clean sheet in Italy as he hailed their courage in bouncing back from the heavy defeat against Borussia Dortmund.
Rodgers' side held Europa League champions Atalanta to a goalless draw in Bergamo three weeks after conceding seven goals in Germany.
Celtic had to withstand some periods of sustained pressure but they looked comfortable for much of the final quarter before a late flurry from the home side in stoppage time.
"It gives them the confidence that they can defend against a top team," said Rodgers, whose side kept their first clean sheet at this level for seven years.
"I'm not sure whether that was pragmatic enough for people. I don't know, but we go out in every game to be structured and defend well.
"You know you're going to get pushed back. But I think the confidence that it gives you when you can defend against the very best teams, that level and that concentration, then it will give them a huge boost."
